SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Shen Yun Music Moves the Listener With ‘Superior Emotions,’ Says Musician

SHARE
Shen Yun Music Moves the Listener With ‘Superior Emotions,’ Says Musician
Jean-Philippe Leffré, a guitar teacher and concert performer, enjoyed Shen Yun in Aix-en-Provence on Feb. 24, 2023. NTD

AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France—The city of Aquae Sextiae, the name given to Aix-en-Provence by the Romans in 122 B.C. because of its thermal springs, is hosting Shen Yun from Friday, Feb. 24.

After Lyon, Tours, Paris and Nantes, the famous New York-based classical Chinese dance and music company is now performing in the ancient capital of Provence.

Bernard Sabatier, a former telecom engineer in Fréjus, was there with his wife Eliane, a senior health executive.

“Extraordinary! Fabulous! You enter into a totally magical world,” enthused Mrs. Sabatier. “It was totally new to me because I don’t know the Chinese culture and, through this show, I can travel and then realize what this culture was before and what happened afterwards.”

“The images and the dances are wonderful. It’s very romantic, very visual and it allows you to discover a piece of China’s history. ”

Bernard Sabatier, a former telecom engineer, attended Shen Yun in Aix-en-Provence on Feb. 24, 2023. (NTD)
Bernard Sabatier, a former telecom engineer, attended Shen Yun in Aix-en-Provence on Feb. 24, 2023. NTD

Both experienced a strong emotion, Mr. Sabatier explained “It’s poignant, then it’s very invigorating! The stories are relatively simple but very touching.”

“What particularly blew me away were the aerial, fairy-tale side and the beauty of the costumes ... Beauty is down to the millimeter! It’s breathtaking! It brings tears to your eyes. I was moved to tears from the very beginning. It grabs you. It’s a show that grabs you!” he said.
Eliane Sabatier is a senior health executive. She enjoyed Shen Yun on Feb. 24, 2023 in Aix-en-Provence. (NTD)
Eliane Sabatier is a senior health executive. She enjoyed Shen Yun on Feb. 24, 2023 in Aix-en-Provence. NTD

For Mrs. Sabatier, “we are in a celestial world, we are totally off the ground.”

“It is a historical epic, it is the transmission of brotherhood, of humanity, it’s all of that. It is magnificent!” she said.

Elvyna Desjardins and Pierre Klein both work for the French army. She is a civilian civil servant who manages contracts for the army, and he is a military engineer in the construction industry. Freshly arrived in Toulon, Mr. Klein took the opportunity to offer the experience of Shen Yun to his sweetheart for Valentine’s Day.

Pierre Klein, a military engineer in the construction industry, and Elvyna Desjardins, a civil servant, came to experience Shen Yun in Aix, on Feb. 24, 2023. (The Epoch Times)
Pierre Klein, a military engineer in the construction industry, and Elvyna Desjardins, a civil servant, came to experience Shen Yun in Aix, on Feb. 24, 2023. The Epoch Times
“The pieces are magnificent! The dance is very acrobatic for the male dancers. It’s more of a fight in some of the scenes. ... The pieces, the costumes, are such a pleasure to watch!” said Ms. Desjardins, referring to the story-based dances that showcase parts of Chinese history, especially during the Three Kingdoms period when warlords clashed.

Mr. Klein particularly enjoyed the Tibetan dance, “because it is very dynamic, it is very joyful!” but thinks that “all the pieces are magnificent—in fact, we do not have a favorite one.”

‘Musical Score Was Perfect’

Jean-Philippe Leffré is a professional guitarist, also a concert performer, guitar teacher and investor. He came to experience Shen Yun with his daughter, of both French and Chinese descent.
This teacher enjoyed Shen Yun’s orchestra:

“The traditional Chinese and Western instruments go very well together. They perfectly accompany the dances and the stories. I don’t know who composed the music, but the musical score was perfect! Really good, very well directed, very well performed! The sound was not too loud, it was very, very good! We forgot there were musicians—we were enveloped in this kind of magic ... It is very, very beautiful!”

He described that magic as such:
“Classical music transports the soul and connects us with the divine, so it elevates us spiritually. Music and arts in general, classical arts like dance, classical music. There is always a connection with the divine!”
“When you’re in the presence of beautiful pieces like this, classical dance ... where everything is represented, the work, the technique, but also the art, it’s done to elevate the spirit and therefore to feel better, so you feel everything!”
“Indeed, we are moved but with superior emotions, we are not experiencing inferior emotions like with the pop music for example. Here, we are experiencing superior emotions, always, and it is what I seek and it is what I like. The beautiful things, the beautiful, the true, the righteous, these are beautiful values!” he said.

Artistic Tradition

According to Shen Yun, “In the past, artists looked to the divine for inspiration. They would meditate and seek virtue. They believed that to create art that uplifts, they must first cultivate goodness.”
“Today, Shen Yun’s artists follow this noble tradition. Their source of inspiration is the spiritual discipline known as Falun Dafa. Rooted in traditional Chinese culture, Falun Dafa incorporates meditation exercises and teachings of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance,” the program book reads.

As an artist, Mr. Leffré looks on the work of Shen Yun’s artists with a professional and a spiritual eye: “There is a lot of work, patience, efforts and connection with one’s inner self, of being at peace with oneself, of being patient ... And, of course, it brings a lot to the musicians and the dancers, to the whole team and the company. I think it brings a lot to them individually as well ... These are people who are necessarily good people, I think.”

Mr. Leffré feels that “a lot of people should come see it and appreciate its beauty. It would bring some joy, some inner peace back into people’s hearts.”

Reporting by NTD and Sarita Modmesaïb.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
Related Topics
shen yun
SHARE